Piazzolla Music Competition Finalists Announced

PARMA Recordings, Fundación Astor Piazzolla, and the composer's family have announced the Finalists for all divisions of the Competition, listed below.

Inclusive of all pre-professional and professional soloists and ensembles of 6 or fewer of any nationality, state, or country of residence, any contestant over the age of 13 (at the time of video submission) was eligible to apply. Winners will be announced on June 15, 2021.

Proceeds from the competition are donated to The Playing For Change Foundation to support music and art education in underserved communities around the world.

The Piazzolla Competion offers the highly coveted grand prize, in both the solo and ensemble divisions, of a cash prize ($1500 USD for soloist, $3500 USD for ensemble), a recording and release deal with PARMA Recordings's Navona Records, as well as a concert tour throughout China arranged and funded by PARMA.

Second and Third Prize winners receive Silver or Bronze medallions, respectively, to mark their outstanding talent and potential.

Special Prizes include the Pablo Ziegler Award, a masterclass for the soloist or ensemble recipient and Maestro Pablo Ziegler, facilitated by PARMA Recordings; or an invitation to perform with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, Grosseto Symphony Orchestra, or Athens Philharmonia Orchestra in the 2022/2023 season, with concerts scheduled, booked, and funded by the respective acclaimed ensembles.

iClassical Academy is an official sponsor of the Piazzolla Music Competition and offers two months of free online courses to all entrants, a free yearly subscription for prizewinners, and Lifetime access to iCA courses to one entrant via the iClassical Academy Prize, selected by iCA.

The application process, designed with inclusivity of resource availability at the forefront, requires musicians to submit by video at least two pieces totaling a minimum of six minutes, performing only music of Astor Piazzolla, from any time between April 18, 2011 and the application deadline of April 18, 2021.

The Piazzolla Music Competition seeks to continue Piazzolla's legacy as the single most influential figure in the history of tango, by identifying and celebrating highly talented musicians of any instrument or voice type with an affinity for the inimitable style and virtuosity of Astor Piazzolla's compositions.

The esteemed individuals comprising the jury include: Grammy Award-winning pianist and composer Pablo Ziegler (President of the Jury); Grammy Award-winning bandoneonist Héctor del Curto; bandoneonist /composer David Binelli; Daniel Villaflor Piazzolla, grandson of Astor Piazzolla and vice president of Fundación Astor Piazzolla; tango singer, actress, and dancer Sandra Rumolino; accordionist, bandoneonist, and composer Cesere Chiacchiaretta; Professor of Music Composition at Rice University, Arthur Gottschalk; Walther Castro, bandoneonist, composer and arranger; performing arts manager Pablo Petrocelli; Croatian Music Institute President Romana Matanovac Vučković, Institution Management owner and arts consultant Masae Shiwa; and Jia Rui, Vice President of JoyTitan Entertainment.

The finalists in the solo division are:

• Vasco Grãos, Classical Guitar, Portugal
• Valentin Kovalev, Saxophone, USA
• SooKyung Choi, Violin, South Korea
• Sonia Bru, Euphonium, Spain
• Shiqi Zhong, Vibraphone, USA
• Rose Wollman, Viola, USA
• Priyanka Venkatesh, Violin, USA
• Pablo Matias Becerra, Piano, Belgium
• Maximiliano Nathan, Vibraphone, Uruguay
• Maria (Masha) Lakisova, Violin, USA
• Lysandre Donoso, Bandoneon, France
• Leo Andersen, Guitar, Argentina
• Jovan Bogosavljevic, Violin, Serbia
• Ivan Bubnov, Saxophone, Russia
• Helena Cullen, Singer, Argentina
• Gonzalo Esteban Antuña, Guitar, Argentina
• Giuseppina Ciarla, Harp, USA
• Florin-Antonio Gavrila, Piano, Romania
• Elizaveta Grushina, Violin, Russia
• Daniel Rojas, Piano, Australia
• Cristina Basili, Cello, Austria
• BoYun Li, Violin, USA
• Anton Stachev, Accordion, Russia

The finalists in the ensemble division are:

• Quinteto Respiro, France (Sebastien Innocenti, Bandoneon; Emilie Aridon-Kociolek, Piano; Sabrina Condello, Violin; Fabio LoCurto, Clarinet/Bass Clarinet; Dorian Marcel, Double Bass)
• Sonus Piano Trio, USA (YaeRi Choi, Violin; Youna Choi, Cello; AhYoung Won, Piano)
• Anna & Alexandr Kislitsyn, USA (Alexandr Kislitsyn, Violin; Anna Kislitsyn, Piano)
• Madeline Cawley & Hannah Cope, USA (Madeline Cawley, Flute; Hannah Cope, Harp)
• Quartet San Francisco, USA (Jeremy Cohen, Violin; Joseph Christianson, Violin; Chad Kaltinger, Viola; Andrés Vera, Cello)
• Pianoduo LUSTRE, Germany (Hiroko Utsumi, Piano; Rie Kimura, Piano)
• Uno Dos, Germany (Cosima Soulez Larivière, Violin; Marion Ravot, Harp)
• Luz y Sombra, Germany (Miriam Erttmann, Violin; Cora Rott, Clarinet; Katja Steinhäuser, Piano)
• Dalí Quartet, USA (Ari Isaacman-Beck, Violin; Carlos Rubio, Violin; Adriana Linares, Viola; Jesús Morales, Cello)
• KandinSky Duo, Germany (Sofia Syliaieva, Guitar; Daria Zernova, Flute)
• Trio Fiore, USA (Lyudmila Lakisova, Piano; Maria (Masha) Lakisova, Violin; David Caplan, Cello)
• Hanika & Popp, Germany (Miriam Hanika, Oboe & Cor Anglais; Simon Popp (Percussion: Calabash & Singing Bowls)
• Quinteto Balvanera, Argentina (Javier Rodriguez Kase, Violin; Mariana Manzanelli, Piano; Santiago Cirmi Obón, Bandoneón; Andrés Santarsiero, Contrabass; Leonardo Andersen, Guitar)
• Quinteto Emedea, France (Mathias Naon, Violin; Lysandre Donoso, Bandoneón; Emilie Aridon-Kociołek, Piano; Adrien Merahi, Electric Guitar; Lucas Eubel-Frontini, Double Bass)
• Romer String Quartet, China (Kitty Cheung, Violin; Kiann Chow, Violin; Ringo Chan, Viola; Eric Yip, Cello)
• Nada Brahma, Austria (Marlies Fürst, Accordion; Corinna Kornthaler, Flute)
• Fabrizio Mocata & Marcelo Tommasi, Italy (Fabrizio Mocata, Piano; Marcelo Tommasi, Voice)
• D'Takito JamDuo, Uruguay (Gervasio Tarragona Valli, Clarinet; Sergio Escalera Soria, Piano)
• Palurovic & Wagner, Austria (Sofija Palurovic, Piano; Dominik Wagner, Double Bass)
• Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, USA (Wendy Herbener Mehne, Flute; Kirsten Marshall, Violin; Vadim Serebryany, Piano)